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World's largest used book store

edited August 2007 in - Reading

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  • Came across this by accident on a long journey home to Yorkshire. Its Bookbarn Ltd, at White Cross, Hallatrow in Somerset. It's a bit off the beaten track but if you are vaguely near,it's well worth a visit. A HUGE warehouse full of second hand and overruns of books. The fiction paperbacks are only £1 each. There is a large amount of non-fiction too. I was there 2 and a half hours and made myself feel sick walking around with my head on one side.
  • The shop next door sounds like a good place for a chiropractor to set up shop. I can just picture a stream of customers all walking out with their heads on the side. Hehehe
  • sorry but i'm going to sulk now.  my in-laws live in somerset, but we have moved to france and rarely get a chance to visit uk.  when i come over do you think i'll need an export licence?
  • I had to restrain myself but it was very hard. £1 a book!! They were in alphabetical order but some muddling within that so for example I kept finding the same book on several shelves. OHHH I would have loved to sort them out. I itched to put all the same ones together. It was also interesting to see that some authors had special sections as they had so many books by them - Cornwell, Rankin, Dick Francis, Dennis Wheatley ( an old one!!) Danielle Steele etc etc It was so frustrating to see books I'd just paid far more for after I'd found an author I liked.
  • I've bought an old book from them via Amazon. But if you look at their website they sell their books via a different website www.look4books.com
    worth looking at if you want something specially.
  • do they do a mail order service???
  • There's also Astley Book Farm in Bedworth in Warwickshire. It's not as big as the Bookbarn, but it's still "pretty massive" - to quote one of our daughters who thinks it's fantastic!
  • You can order books via the website Carol mentioned but you pay more than £1 because of postage. I think their site works a little like Green Metropolis - in that you can offer your own books for sale - at a cost - and they sell on your behalf. 
  • ohh thanks Jenny. Warwickshire is a bit nearer than Somerset.
  • Flick - Their website is: http://www.astleybookfarm.com/
  • I've found a few potential books on look4books, and have sent an enquiry to the sellers to find out if they have relevent information that might make the book worth purchasing.
  • Wow, there's another reason to come back to the UK! Thanks Flick!
  • Thanks, Flick (and Jenny, Carol, et al)... looks good.  And, I know I bang on about the library service just a tad :O), but don't forget the books for sale in your local council libraries are often very cheap and very often nearly new (unwanted donations, not enough space, duplicates, etc) and the older ones are generally fine.

    Our book-sale books are only 20p!!  Used to be 10p.  So, if you want local 2nd-hand, they may not be as well organised as Bookbarn etc, but you could get 5 for a quid. 50 for a tenner!  And a good range of fiction and non-fiction.  So, if you belong to your library, you can usually go to any library with the same Council (in London, you can join any London library).  In any case, you don't have to be a member simply to buy books.  A tour of your local area would be convenient, cheap and enjoyable.

    Just a thought...
  • Thanks Carol, Tessa, Jenny and Flick as a confirmed book addict I will have to take a look.
  • Flick - "I itched to put all the same ones together." Fancy a trip to Wales to sort my shelves out at home? lol
  • TT, our library sales used to be very good, and the money raised goes back into buying new books of course. Unfortunately, now most of the books available in our sales are fiction, and they end up being shunted round all the smaller libraries.
    But if you see a sign, it's always worth checking.
  • The thought of coming home with another 50 books ... !!
  • I thought Barter Books in Alnwick was supposed to be the biggest...
  • Well, this place says on its flier - The world's largest used book store and the world's largest internet supplier of rare,scarce and just plain ordinary used books. It was like an aircraft hanger - well two of them actually. I've never seen anything like it in my life.
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